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Ireland: Strong Majority of Center-Right Party Lower House Members Back Marriage Equality

Written by scott on July 22nd, 2013

Fine Gael, the center-right party that’s in a governing coalition with the Labour Party, could be an impediment to the implementation of marriage equality in Ireland. But a new survey shows that a strong majority of Fine Gael members in Ireland’s Lower House, the Dail Eireann, support marriage equality. The Irish Examiner reports:

An overwhelming majority of Fine Gael backbenchers support a referendum extending marriage rights to same-sex couples, a new survey reveals. The findings blow apart the widely held view that the backbenchers act as a conservative anchor on social reform within the Coalition, and will increase pressure on Taoiseach Enda Kenny to finally state where he stands on the issue. With 43 of the 50 non-ministerial Fine Gael TDs responding, 79% back holding a referendum on gay marriage, with 19% opposed, according to the Newstalk Breakfast survey.